One encouraging sign for the exhibition industry has been the wave of revitalizations of historic movie theatres in Los Angeles. When cinemas shut down during the COVID pandemic, the bell seemed to be tolling for many of L.A.’s historic movie houses. Operators were caught between a sizeable expense to maintain these buildings and declining rates of moviegoing. However, nostalgia for the classic moviegoing experience has motivated wealthy investors to step in to rescue many of these theatres from oblivion.
Theatres like the Vista Theatre, Egyptian Theatre, Cinerama Dome among others have been renovated and either recently reopened or have definite plans and a timeline to reopen soon. One such theatre is the Bruin Theatre in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. The Bruin has been the host to countless Hollywood film premieres over the years, and screens a steady stream of Hollywood first run movies. Alas, it has been closed since the pandemic, despite several well-intentioned attempts to raise the funds to upgrade it and reopen.
One such attempt has come from an investment group headed by Hollywood director Jason Reitman, which has successfully reopened the neighboring Westwood Theatre. IndieWire details the story of what went wrong in Reitman’s attempt to reopen the Bruin Theatre, which involved ballooning renovation costs and disputes with the landlord. Reitman eventually stepped back from the Bruin, with a new operator now stepping in to try his hand at the project. The story is both an example of the immense challenges of operating an historic theatre and the appeal it holds for those wanting to breathe new life into the classic moviegoing experience in Los Angeles.
